96. Dopesmoker aka Jerusalem by Sleep
Not sure what to list as the release date for this given all the different versions, but regardless of the version, the result is the same. Heavily inspired by the Melvins' epic drone masterpiece
Lysol, Sleep's desert doom epic is an hour and three minutes (that time is shortened considerably on
Jerusalem) of doom riffs, booming vocals, and lengthy guitar solos, and that is it. It is borderline-drone metal, a turnoff for some, but the booming instrumentation and the epic tale of a group of robbed figures navigating a desert planet while smoking weed is irresistable for a majority of listeners. You will not find an album that is heavier than this and as atmospheric.
I think everybody will agree that the 2012 Southern Lord reissue of
Dopesmoker is the best version by a wide margin, but
Jerusalem is sort of worth checking out for its unique production, even if there are a total of a few minutes of material missing from the latter.